Highlights

What is health?

According to the World Health Organization, health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (See WHO definition page.)

Each year, the N.C. Division of Public Health will produce an annual data report measuring progress towards the targets of improving population health through our Healthy North Carolina 2020 objectives. The report is compiled by the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics.

Healthy North Carolina 2020: A Better State of Health (PDF, 7.3 MB) - These are the final 2020 focus areas, objectives and targets for our state. Each of the 13 focus areas is presented in a two-page section. Each section lists the objectives for the focus area, briefly describes the rationale for the selection of each objective, shows data on where North Carolina currently ranks regarding each objective, and provides the 2020 target.

Healthy NC 2020 serves as our state's health improvement plan, which will address and improve our state's most pressing health priorities. The Healthy North Carolina 2020 health objectives address all aspects of health with the aim of improving the health status of every North Carolinian. Through Healthy NC 2020, we hope to mobilize the state to achieve a common set of health objectives, which are available in the report, Healthy North Carolina 2020: A Better State of Health (PDF, 7.3 MB), and on the objectives page of this site. Also see the Healthy NC 2020 Technical Report, a companion publication with more details about each of the 13 focus areas and 40 objectives.

Did you know North Carolina ranks 37th among U.S. states in terms of our overall health according to America's Health Rankings?

Healthy North Carolina 2020 aims to move us to "A Better State of Health." It’s a big job, but with your help, we can get there.

Our goal is to be one of the healthiest states in the nation. This will require a concerted effort from policy-makers, health professionals, state and local government, insurers, business and community leaders, advocacy organizations, consumer groups, the faith community and North Carolina’s residents -- does that include you?!